The invention relates to a magnetic tape apparatus of the type in which data is recorded by means of magnetic heads which scan a movable magnetic tape which is tensioned between two tape guides, particularly for magnetically recording and playing back with rotating head wheels.
A magnetic tape unit for recording data is known in which the magnetic tape is moved back and forth between two separately mounted reels, with both reels being driven via mandrels. Such magnetic tape units are used for longitudinal recordings, slant track recordings or for transverse track recordings. In such devices, the reels are usually disposed in cassettes. For longitudinal recordings, the magnetic tape remains within the cassette and the magnetic head for recording or scanning is pressed from outside against a tape disposed in the cassette and tensioned between two tape guides. For the slant track recording, the magnetic tape is pulled out of the cassette before the recording or playback and is placed around a head drum. For transverse track recording, the magnetic tape can also remain in the cassette. But in this case, the tape which is movable back and forth within the cassette, at the location where it is to be scanned, is curved transversely to its direction of movement around a head drum wheel whose axis of rotation is parallel to the direction of tape movement and whose tracks are thus recorded on the tape essentially or almost perpendicularly to the direction of tape movement. For magnetic tape units employing transverse track recordings, it has also been proposed, for still picture playback or track monitoring, to displace the head wheel, which serves to perform recording and/or playback, in the axial direction.